Away in Neverland
by secretwriter23
Summary: Peter Pan kidnaps a girl from Storybrooke for reasons unknown to her and this is the story of what happens when she is taken to Neverland
1. Chapter 1

Away In Neverland

The day was grey and gloomy as Alice walked along the beach of Storybrooke. She wore a small, pink sun dress despite the absence of the adjective.

"Looks like rain" said a voice to her left where the rocky cliffs were. She stopped and turned to find an oddly dressed young man with messy dark hair and emerald green eyes. The strange part was, she had never seen him before and Storybrooke was a pretty close town. She looked around, then at the sky.

"Smells like it too…um I haven't seen you around here before…" She looked back towards the boy but her eyes widened when she saw he wasn't there.

"No, I suppose you haven't." He spoke, now behind her. She whirled around and jumped back, now backed up against the cliff's side. The boy smirked at her reaction.

"Wh-who are you?" Alice asked cautiously

"Peter. Peter Pan"

"Pan…y-you're the one causing trouble in town."

"I wouldn't call it trouble…"

"I would. Why are you here?"

"I'm here for you Alice." The princess's eyes widened. She had heard rumors about the infamous Peter Pan. He saw her reaction and in a feigned exhausted tone he said,

"Don't run. It'll make things unnecessarily difficult."

Ignoring what he said, she took off running down the shore. Pan rolled his eyes and blew a powder from his hand towards the fleeing girl. The powder quickly surrounded her and took the air from her lungs. She collapsed, unconscious, barely five feet from where Pan stood.

The next time Alice awoke, she was laying on the floor of one of Pan's cages. He was looking at her, rather amused, through the bars.

"My, Neverland's magic sure does affect people differently." He spoke once he noticed she was awake. A look of confusion flashed across her face causing Pan to smirk and hold up a mirror. She screamed at the sight she saw. She had aged backwards and was now looking at the reflection of her 16 year old self despite being much older!

"What did you do to me?!" She demanded

"Me? I took you to Neverland and now you're my prisoner."

Alice sprung to her feet and launched her arms at Pan's throat. He swiftly dodged however and just laughed.

"You've got fire, I like that…let's see if it lasts." And with that, Pan walked away.

Three days she laid on that cage floor: no food, no water, just the beaming hot sun and noises of the island. On the fourth day the cage door opened and the sun was blocked by a silhouette. Pan's silhouette. He crouched down and offered his hand to the weak princess. She stared at him.

"Come on love, I don't bite" he said. She hesitated then, realizing she had no other choice, she took his hand. He pulled her to her feet and out of her cage. Having spent three days in there with no food however, her feet weren't prepared to stand and she quickly stumbled into Pan's arms and her face landed on his chest. She felt her face get hot and pushed herself away from him to find her footing. Pan let out a small laugh and took her hand again. He led her into the forest. Her mind went racing: was he taking her some place to kill her? She shook her head at the thought. If he wanted her dead, he would've killed her already. They walked alone together until the sun began to set behind the trees and they came to a small lake. Alice gasped at the beautiful sight; the lake had a beautiful waterfall flowing into it. Pan let her hand go.

"I suspect you would like to bathe?" Pan questioned. Alice nodded quickly and walked to the edge of the lake, then looked back at Pan.

"Problem?" he asked

"Are you going to turn around?" She asked quietly

"Why would I do that?"

"Because I'm going to undress."

Pan raised his eyebrow and turned around. Alice took off her dirty, ripped sundress and her underwear. Seeing as how her sundress had a built in bra, she didn't have one on to take off. She waded into the refreshing water that was deep enough for her to swim in. She swam to the waterfall so her back was to Pan and the shore. She used the waterfall as somewhat of a drinking fountain; she cupped her hands and let them fill up with water before drinking it. She did this for a while before running her hands through her wet hair, going underwater, then resurfacing facing the shore again. To her surprise, Pan was nowhere to be seen. She shrugged guessing that he had simply climbed up a tree or something. No way would he leave her unsupervised. After ten minutes of rinsing her body in the water, she slowly made her way to the shore. The cold night air bit her skin and she began to shiver as she wrapped her arms around herself and made her way to where she placed her clothing…but they weren't there. She frantically looked around. In the trees, under rocks, behind the bushes.

"Well I bet you feel very vulnerable right about now." Pan spoke from the edge of the forest.

"Wh-where…wh-what did you do with my clothes?" She asked as her teeth chattered. She was standing behind a conveniently placed leaf.

"I got rid of them."

"You wh-what?!"

"Seriously love, they were all torn up. Try these on for size." Pan tossed a bundle of clothing over towards her. Alice let them hit the ground so as to not move from behind her leaf. Seemingly reading her mind, Pan threw his hands sarcastically in the air and turned his back to her. She darted out and grabbed the bundle of clothing. There was fresh underwear (although it was clearly made for boys), a green tank top, a tan skirt, brown belt, and a stray piece of fabric. It looked long enough to wrap around her, so she tied it around her breasts and used it as a make-shift bra. She then dressed herself in the clothes that suspiciously fitted her perfectly. She dressed behind the leaf. Luckily for her, it was a large leaf. Once she was done, she stepped out from behind it. Pan heard hear bare feet against the rocky shore and turned around with a smirk.

"Good they fit." He spoke

"Quite the coincidence." She responded

"Yes, quite." Peter motioned for her to come over to him. She did and he took her hand. He snapped his fingers and they were teleported to the top of a cliff. Alice caught her breath at the sudden switch of location.

"Turn around." Pan ordered. She quietly obeyed and turned her back to Pan and the edge of the cliff. She felt Peter place his hands on her shoulders and lower her to the ground. He began to run his fingers through her hair. She whipped her head around.

"What are you doing?" She demanded.

"Relax, I'm just going to braid it."

"No way."

"Either that, or I just cut it. It is pretty long and…"

"No!...fine just braid it." She said bitterly and turned her head back around. Peter braided her long black hair and left a few strands out in front of her face on purpose. When he finished, he stood up; Alice remained seated with her back turned.

"…you know they'll find me" she stated quietly

"Sorry?"

"I have a family, friends. By now they know I'm missing and they'll come looking for me."

Peter let out a laugh, like he was genuinely amused.

"Even if that were true, they would never be able to get here. But we both know that's not true."

Alice stood up and whirled around defensively

"It is true! I have a family and friends! Everyone does! Except maybe you"

"Ignoring that last part, you're right, I stand corrected, you do have a family. They've just forgotten about you. Because you're the Forgotten Princess…" Pan teased in a sing-song manner

"How do you…?"

"What? You think I don't know who I bring to my island? I know everything about you Princess Delany. Poor little baby cursed by Maleficent. Doomed to be forgotten by all she knows. That must make it hard to find true love eh? But you keep searching because you know only true love's kiss can break your curse." Peter smirked

"How would you know how to break the curse? And how come it doesn't work on you?" Alice's eye narrowed at Pan

"Because it's my curse. I made it. That and true love's kiss is the most powerful magic of all. But I assumed it was a pretty safe bet that anyone with my curse has pretty slim odds of finding love. I believe that answers both your questions."

"I have found love!"

"Who? The one-handed pirate with a drinking problem who has already forgotten you existed and found new love? News flash darling, true love has to work both ways in order for the curse to break."

"What do you mean he's already found new love?" she asked in a heart breaking tone

Pan waved his hand and showed Alice an image of Storybrooke that had Killian flirting with Emma as they ate at Granny's.

"No…it can't be true…" Alice teared up and turned her back towards Pan and the image

"'fraid so love" Peter waved his hand again and the image disappeared.

"No…" Alice's sadness quickly turned to anger: she picked up a large tree branch and swung it at Pan's head. But because of her malnourishment, the swing was weak and Pan easily caught it with one hand, then proceeded to tackle her to the ground. He sat on her hips and pinned her arms above her head with one hand. In that instant, Alice felt a pull in her gut. Fear? No it was worse, she felt attraction. There was something hot about being completely helpless underneath Pan. Peter felt the attraction too and saw what she felt in her eyes. He smirked, forming a plan.

"Now darling, why so hostile?" He asked. Alice pushed her attraction aside and focused on her anger.

"Let's see, you kidnap me, torture me, then you rip my heart out by showing me that the man I love has already found someone else!"

"Oh love," Pan said coolly with a smile, "That's not ripping your heart out, this is." Pan stuck his free hand into her chest and pulled out her heart. She screamed in pain and fear of seeing her still beating heart in the hands of Peter Pan. Pan's smile faltered a bit at her scream but he didn't let it show.

"Now, back to your cage then" Pan took his other hand from pinning hers off, but before she had time to react, he placed it on her throat and quickly suffocated her until she was blacked out, but still breathing.

Alice woke up with a gasp. She was back in her cage. She looked around and saw no one. She placed her hand on the left side of her chest and felt her heart beating. Was she imagining it because she was used to feeling her heartbeat. She knew how improbable it was that Pan had put her heart back. He wanted her to behave and that's the sure-fire way to achieve that. She looked around again and noticed a plate of freshly cut fruit now sitting in the corner of her cage. She could swear it wasn't there earlier. That meant Pan was watching her…


	2. Chapter 2

**_A/N: This chapter gets pretty tense towards the end and I will place a trigger warning on this for rape so if that makes you uncomfortable or will trigger something, either don't read it or please be careful. I care about you and message me if you need to talk about anything. Remember that I love you all :)_ **

Alice knew she had to escape from Pan. But first she would need a plan. Alice quickly ate the fruit that was there for her. Although she had no idea what kind of fruit it was, it tasted amazing. She scarfed it down because she hadn't eaten in five days. After she finished the last piece of savory fruit, she tried to escape by yanking at the bars of the cage. As she expected, they didn't budge. She sighed and slowly began to figure a way out. She waited, and waited, and waited; when she felt like Pan wasn't watching her, she looked around for something, anything she could use to pick the lock. She tried various sticks she found lying around her cage but they all broke. Despite that, she kept trying until finally she got lucky. She cage door opened. She smiled widely and had to stop herself from laughing with joy. She quickly exited the cage and took off into the forest. It was hard to see through the thick trees, especially at night. She had no idea where she was going, she just hoped she was headed towards the beach. Alice ran through the trees, occasionally looking behind her to see if she was being followed. Once while doing this she smacked into something and landed most indignantly on her butt.

"Now where do you think you're going?" a voice asked

"I-I-I…" Alice couldn't even get a full sentence out before the tall hooded boy grabbed her wrist and began dragging her off in a different direction.

"Pan will be very upset about this" The boy said in an almost excited tone. She was dragged into a camp with a big fire in the middle, smaller huts all around, and boys of varying ages staring at her.

"Pan!" The boy dragging her called up to a hut built in a tree. It was semi-larger than the others. Figures. It was Pan's. Pan descended from the tree house

"Look what I found trying to escape" The boy said. Alice stared up at Pan in fear as she was pushed to her knees by the boy. Pan looked disappointed that she had tried to escape, but he shook it off and his stern face returned.

"Well done Felix." Pan told the boy, "How's about a game boys?!" Pan asked the camp. Cheers came from all around her. "How about…hide and seek?" The boys of the camp cheered and brought out their weapons. Alice turned pale.

"So you want to run darling?" Pan asked her. She caught on to what was going on

"N-no…please…I won't do it again…" She didn't fancy the idea of being hunted down like an animal by a bunch of pre-teen boys with spears, swords and arrows. Pan knelt beside her, leaned close, and whispered in her ear,

"You've got thirty seconds…run little girl. Run" Alice's eyes widen and she took off into the forest once more, running for her life. The boys cheered and chased after her. Pan sat silently by the fire. He didn't want to punish her, but he had to uphold his reputation. Peter sat in silence for about ten minutes before Alice's scream rang across the island. He leaped to his feet

"Alice!" Pan teleported to where the Lost Boys were.

"That's enough. Go back to camp" He ordered. Sullenly the disappointed boys went back to camp, dragging their feet, but not willing to argue with their leader. Felix was the last to disappear out of his sight. He then looked at the ground and saw a trail of blood. He followed it into the forest and when it ended he looked around. Alice was nowhere to be seen. Then he looked up in the surrounding trees.

"Alice dear" he called, "I know you're up in the trees. Come on down kitten. You're safe now. I promise." As he spoke he continued to look up at the trees. In the top of a few trees behind him, Alice sat on a sturdy branch, pressing her bleeding back into the tree. Her blood slowly trailed down the tree's trunk. She had one hand over the entrance of the stab wound that was inflicted on her, and the other pressed tightly against her mouth so Pan wouldn't hear her breathing. She was in pain unlike any she had ever been in.

"Come on love, I'm waiting…" Pan called. Alice stared at the sky in an effort to avoid crying. That was her mistake, the motion caused her to lose her balance and before she knew it, she tumbled to the ground and let out another scream. Her scream chilled Peter's bones. He ran to her side and knelt down. She stared up at him as her eyes watered; the hand that was covering her mouth now clutched the ground next to her. Without saying anything, Peter attempted to remove her hand that was covering her wound. She stiffened it up and refused to move it. Peter knew this by the glare she gave him with her teary eyes.

"Let me help you" he said softly. It still took some effort, but he eventually was able to lift Alice's hand off of her bleeding side. Pan pursed his lips and lifted her up carefully. She let out a small cry as he did. In an instant they were back in Pan's treehouse. He set her on the bed: as he did, the pain finally got to her and she began to cry softly.

"Lift up a sec. love," he instructed gently. She did and he began to lift up her shirt. Alice let out a cry of protest. Peter sighed,

"Your shirt has to come off if you want your wound bandaged." Pan took Alice looking away from him as a sign to continue. Pan lifted her tank-top over her head and laid her back down gently. By now her tears had stopped but she was still in pain.

"I'm going to clean and bandage the front, then the back, then I'm going to wrap it ok?" Pan explained, "I'm not going to lie, it'll probably hurt."

Alice squeezed her eyes shut and prepared for the pain to intensify; when it didn't she opened her eyes again. She saw Pan holding out his hand. It took all her strength to muster up a glare and point it at him. He shrugged and began to clean her wound. She let out a scream and her hand shot up and grabbed his tightly.

"Almost done love." He finished cleaning the wound and then carefully placed a bandage over the entrance wound. He then lifted her up carefully and made her straddle his lap. Under different circumstances she would've been massively embarrassed, but she was in unbelievable pain and she didn't even have enough strength to hold her head up, so it just laid limply on Peter's shoulder. Peter began to clean the exit wound and she screamed into his shoulder. Pan smoothed Alice's hair with his free hand and he whispered,

"Shh. It's ok Alice" He finished cleaning and bandaging her back, then prompted her to stand. She tried but almost instantly crumbled to the floor. Pan caught her and steadied her. He placed her hands on his shoulder so she wouldn't fall over and wrapped his arms around her. He had the bandage wrap in his hands and wrapped her whole stomach area tightly.

"All finished" He whispered into her ear. About halfway through wrapping her, her head had fallen onto his shoulder. He assumed she had just lost the strength to hold it up, but in reality she had lost the strength to stay conscious.

"Alice?" He sighed, picked her up gently and tucked her in his bed.

She awoke the next morning by the sun's warmth beaming on her face; her memory of the night before was fuzzy. She remembered running, pain…horrible pain and Peter. Peter had saved her from dying.

 _Maybe I misjudged him…_ She thought to herself, _no…one nice deed doesn't account for what he did to me…kidnap me, torture me, send his lost boys to hunt me down like I'm some animal!_ Her eyes watered, although she knew everyone had forgotten about her already, she wanted to go home. Her thoughts of the safety of home were quickly shattered by the noise of someone about to enter the tree house. She laid her head down, closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep still. Just seconds later, Peter entered the tree house. He walked over to the bed and scanned Alice's "sleeping" body.

"Hm, still resting" he mused aloud. He gently brushed his hand against her cheek and she instinctively flinched. She opened her eyes and was greeted by Pan's smirk.

"Well, rise and shine darling. Have a good rest?"

She just glared at him and sat up slowly, cringing at the pain it caused her. It took her a few moments to realize that Pan was staring at her with amusement.

"What?!" She snapped. He simply moved his eye down her body, then back up to her eyes. She looked down and realized she was still shirtless and only wearing that spare piece of fabric around her breasts. She quickly wrapped her arms around herself.

"Where's my shirt?!" she demanded

"Being mended. It had a hole in it. Must you be so loud?" he asked calmly. Alice felt as though she would explode with anger. He couldn't possibly expect her to run around and island full of adolescent boys shirtless. Then again, he was Peter Pan. Angrily, she turned her back to him so at least she wouldn't feel like he was using x-ray vision on her. She didn't even know if he had that power. But she didn't care.

"Here take this" Peter said

"What? You have another tank-top just lying around that magically fits me?" she asked sarcastically as she waved her hands in the air. But when she turned around she was met with the sight of Peter taking his shirt off. Her heart began to beat really fast

"Stop it!" She mentally scolded herself. She was snapped out of her head by Pan tossing his shirt at her. She caught it.

"You shouldn't just run around half naked like that. There are dangers out there…hormonal teenage boys" He smirked.

"There's a hormonal teenage boy in here too." She glared, but she put on the shirt anyway. As she did, she took a deep breath. She found herself smiling at the smell of the shirt, Peter's smell. It wasn't dirty like one would expect, it smelled like fresh air, sea spray, pine. It was beautiful.

"I didn't realize you could smile" Pan commented sarcastically, "what are you smiling about sunshine?" he asked, pulling out a new shirt and putting it on

"I…" Alice began, thinking she was about to let her walls down and open up, but at the last second she changed her mind, "I was smiling because you're crazy if you think one nice thing is going to make up for the hell you put me through" She finished smugly.

"Huh. You know I can tell when you're lying" He said, then he left the tree house.

"Wait! No you can't!" She followed him out and she found herself atop a high tree on a balcony leaning over the edge. Not to her surprise, Pan was nowhere to be seen, but she was greeted with the eyes of about three dozen boys from ages 5-17.

"Oh…" She said quietly. She climbed down the ladder and stood in front of tree awkwardly until a little boy who couldn't be older than six ran up to her.

"Who are you?" he asked in his little voice

"I'm…I'm Alice" She said

"You're a girl" he pointed out. Alice let out a small laugh

"Yeah, yeah I am"

"Guys! Pan brought us a lost girl!" The younger boys cheered while the older boys eyed her uncomfortably.

"Right…well um…I don't exactly know about that…I um…what's your name?"

"I'm Jesse!" The little boy squeaked, "Will you come play with me?!"

There was a rush of "me too!"s from the other young boys

"Jesse, Pan gave you orders" One of the older boys spoke up

"Aww, but Alex…" Jesse began to complain,

"No," Alice said. She knelt down so she was eye level with Jesse, "What did Pan ask you to do?"

"He asked me to find and pick fruit…"

"I'll come with you. And then once you're done, we can play" Alice gave a small smile

"Really?" Jesse asked excitedly

"Yeah" Alice nodded

"What about me?" another young boy asked, "I wanna play!"

"Alright, if you all do what Pan asked you to do quickly, we can play before the sun goes down." The young boys cheered and ran off to do their various chores. Jesse took Alice's hand and led her into the forest. They spent about half the day picking fruits and putting them into woven baskets.

"There, I think that's enough to make Pan happy wouldn't you say?" she asked him

"Yeah…Are you ok?" he asked her curiously

"Of course, why do you ask?"

"You make hurt faces when you reach for a fruit."

Alice smiled and lifted up her shirt a bit to show her bandages. Jesse gasped

"What happened?" Alice thought of what she could say, how she could explain what Pan did to her. She noticed that all the younger boys were in bed the night before and didn't get to participate in Pan's "game". That's it!

"…played too rough with Pan"

"Pan did that?" The boy looked hurt. Alice realized these boys idolized Peter

"Oh, no, no, no sweetie" She knelt down and put her hands on his shoulders, "Pan helped me, he bandaged me up, made me all better. Now come on, let's get back to camp." She smiled and took his hand. Together they walked back to camp and were soon met with the rest of the younger boys. The group of young lost boys led Alice to a field where they played until the moon rose. A horn rang through the air and one of the boys cried out that it was dinner time. The majority of the boys ran back in the direction of the camp. Alice sat down in the grass and watched them

"Aren't you coming to supper?" Jesse asked her. She looked up at him,

"You go on ahead Jesse, I'll catch up."

"But I want to stay with you"

"Go on, Pan will be expecting you" She smiled, gave him a small kiss on the cheek and a gentle shove in the direction of camp. Jesse looked back concerned, but after a reassuring nod from her, he ran to get his food. Alice laid down in the soft grass and stared at the stars. Neverland was beautiful. She realized that she might hate Pan, but that she didn't have to take it out on the lost boys. Besides, some of the older ones weren't too bad looking. She closed her eyes and sighed, breathing in the fresh air.

"Have a nice day?" A voice interrupted her thoughts. Pan's voice. She opened her eyes, sat up and faced him.

"I was having a wonderful day up until now" she responded.

"Oh? Why is that? All your new friends leave?" he asked, sitting next to her

"No" she smiled sweetly at him, "You showed up" Her face when back to neutral and she stood up and began to walk away

"Oh come on love, that hurts" Pan said, standing up as well

"Not as much as being starved for 5 days and then stabbed!" she called back. Pan appeared in front of her.

"Don't be ungrateful" he warned, "I let you out of that cage, I'll put you back in." Fear flashed in her eyes and Pan smirked, "Now come on darling, eat" he snapped his fingers and they both appeared at camp in front of the fire. This annoyed her

"I hate-" She was cut off by Jesse screaming her name

"Alice!" he ran up and hugged her, plate in hand. She patted him on the back and glared at Peter, who had taken his place around the fire and began to play his flute. It was a pretty little tune, she had to admit. Jesse took her hand and led her to a log around the fire she could sit at, right next to him. She had a small portion of food, but the rest of her night, was filled with various younger lost boys asking her to dance with them, and older ones checking her out. When she sat down to take a break, the fire was almost dead. Many of the other lost boys had already gone to bed, even Pan had disappeared. Jesse sat next to her and eventually fell asleep on her lap. She stroked his curly brown hair gently, picked him up and carried him to a cabin that he had pointed out earlier that day as his. She entered quietly as to not disturb the other lost boys sleeping in the small hut. She saw one empty cot that must have been Jesse's. She carried him over, laid him down, pulled the covers over him and kissed him goodnight. She smiled softly as she walked out of the cabin. The fire was out and only the light of the moon illuminated the quiet camp. Everyone was asleep now. Alice bit her lip, not knowing what to do. She walked over to the log she had been sitting on at dinner. It wasn't much for a bed, but she laid her head down. She was exhausted, those boys had worn her out. She closed her eyes but the darkness was short lived as a laugh caused her to snap her eyes back open.

"What are you doing?" Pan asked mid laugh. She groaned

"You know, you have a really bad habit of interrupting my thoughts" She said as she stood up and walked away

"Where are you going?" Pan called after her

"Away from you!"

"Fine, if you'd rather sleep outside in the cold, suit yourself!"

Alice stopped and practically felt Pan's smirk. She turned around

"As opposed to…?"

"Oh, come now love, you're my guest. You really think I don't have a cabin prepared for you?"

"Well call me crazy, but you don't seem too hospitable. And I believe you used the term prisoner when you first brought me here."

Pan walked up to her

"Prisoner, guest. Same thing"

"Not really"

"So, what'll it be kitten? Outside, or in a cabin?"

"Fine. I'd rather sleep on an actual bed."

"Thought so" he held out his hand. She just stared at him blankly

"Do I have to hold your hand?"

"Of course"

"But why?"

"Because I like it."

"Same question"

"Because it bothers you" He smirked and grabbed her hand. He led her to a cabin on the far end of the camp.

"Here we are love" He said letting go of her hand and gesturing towards the door. She smiled sarcastically

"How sweet" She opened the door and walked in, then turned back to face the door because Pan was still standing there.

"Bye" she said expectantly

"Not even a goodnight kiss?" Pan raised his eyebrows

"Oh of course, silly me! I can't believe I forgot" She walked up to the door, leaned in, and slammed the door in his face.

Alice continued to spend the day with the lost boys and doing her best to avoid Pan. She got into somewhat of a routine on the island. The lost boys started calling her a lost girl; fitting she guessed. Occasionally she would go back to the lake the Pan took her to with the waterfall and bathe herself. Hygiene wasn't something that was stressed on the island for the lost boys. Alice however found it very important. One night, after everyone was asleep, Alice snuck out to the beach, took a canoe and rowed it out to the sea. She continued to row until she saw a pirate ship. She knew she was in trouble. She tried her best to row in the opposite direction, but within seconds pirates had boarded her tiny canoe. She tried to fight them, but they were too strong for her, and she was unarmed. She was roughly shoved into the hands of one pirate to hold her while another tied her hands in front of her. A rope was lowered from the ship and she was ordered to climb. She spit at them. Angrily she was strapped to the back of one of the smelly pirates who climbed up the rope, then dropped her on the deck. All of the pirate crew stood around her making her feel about 2 inches tall as she laid on the deck. The crew parted and a man who was clearly the captain stepped in front of the crowd and looked down at her with an evil smile. She glared up at him. She figured he had to be the captain with the way the crew acted around him, even though he seemed to be younger than the majority of them. Alice guessed him to be around 23.

"Take her to my cabin" He ordered. Then turned around and left back the way he came.

"Wow, rude" Alice thought to herself. She was yanked up by one of the crew members, dragged to the other side of the ship and thrown into the captain's quarters. She got up and made an attempt to run for the door, but it was slammed in her face and locked from the outside. Alice let out a scream of anger and began looking around the cabin for a way to escape. There was a table with navigational charts in one corner, a bed in the center and a wardrobe and chest on the other side of the room. There were windows, but even in her 16 year old body she couldn't possibly fit through one. That and they were all closed. She started over to one and tried to push it open; no dice. As she started to pull on it, the door to the cabin opened and the young captain stepped in.

"Don't even try it sugar" He said. Alice turned around and gave him a glare that could kill

"Let me go" She demanded

"Now why would Peter Pan's lost girl be out at sea in the middle of the night hm?" He asked, ignoring her demand.

"I'm not his lost girl. And if you think for one second that you'll get anything from him because you have me, you…"

The captain laughed

"We took you because it was convenient. That boy doesn't feel anything for anyone. You see, us pirates spend days at sea surrounded by other men. Having a woman on board is nice company" He began to circle her, eyeing her body hungrily. "And eventually you'll fetch us a nice price at some pirate port and be sold off to someone to be…well whatever they want you to be"

"Sold off?!" she did her best to get away from the captain

"But first…" He said with a cold laugh as his hand reached out and grabbed her hair. He pulled her close and put a gag on her mouth, then pushed her onto the bed and landed on her stomach.

 _Oh no_ Alice knew exactly what this captain was about to do. She kicked and tried to worm her way off the bed. She HAD to get away. Before she got far she felt the captain get onto the bed and he forcibly flipped her over. She began to beat at him with her tied hands. He roughly straightened her out on the bed so her head was on the pillows, then sat on her so she could no longer try to get away. She continued to hit his chest with her hands until he grabbed them and produced another rope. He tied one end of the rope to the bed and the other to her already bounded hands. She could no longer move her hands more than a few centimeters. He climbed off of her and went to the end of the bed. She kicked up at him with all her might. He smacked one leg away and caught the other. He then took rope from under the bed and tied her ankle to the bed, then did the same with the other ankle. She was completely stuck and unable to move. The captain took a step back and admired her frantic look of panic as she knew what was about to happen. He traced his hand up her leg. Alice screamed behind her gag and bucked her body as much as she could. The pirate climbed on top of her again. He whispered,

"Oh patients sugar…" He tucked some loose hair behind her ear, then his hands went to his belt. He undid it and took his pants right off. Then his underwear. Alice again tried to scream for help.

"It's no use little one" he said as he lifted up her skirt and pulled down her underwear. She wouldn't give up that easy. She continued to fight as much as she could and scream, behind her gag, but like the captain said, it was pointless. She was helpless. She didn't feel the same as when she was helpless beneath Pan that one night, Alice felt genuine fear. The captain inched his way up Alice's body and put his manhood on her face. She closed her eyes and turned her head away, but he simply repositioned himself and rubbed it on her face.

"I would take off your gag and let you have a taste, but I can't trust that you won't scream" he said to her. Tears formed in Alice's clasped shut eyes. She felt him move himself back down her body. She felt him line himself up with her center as his hands played with her breasts. He reached his hands up her shirt so he could have easier access to them. Before she knew it, he thrusted into her. Her eyes shot open and she screamed as tears rolled down her face. She continued to scream and cry and the pirate captain pumped himself into her. Seconds felt like hours for the helpless girl. Eventually he released himself into her and pulled out. Alice had her eyes closed as tears streamed down her face. She felt horrible. She was just some objectified thing for him to have his way with. She no longer felt like a person. The pirate climbed off her and redressed himself. He then untied her from the bed. He knew that she wouldn't fight him now. He had taken away her will to fight. He had defeated her. Fear that it would happen again, kept her from fighting. He took her off the bed and completely undressed her. He even untied her hands, but he left the gag on. He then rummaged around in the chest for a bit before producing a white dress that had clearly come from some other unfortunate girl. God only knew where she was now. The captain dressed her, tied her hands in front of her once more and marched her out on deck, like an animal on show at the circus. He pushed her to the front of the deck and made her stand up on a pedestal while the crew whooped and yelled things at her. She shivered as the night wind brushed her skin.

"Men! Time to set sail" The captain ordered. Alice looked to her left and saw that they hadn't left Neverland. A bit of hope formed in her stomach. She could still call for help. Her eyes scanned the crew to make sure none of them were directly watching her. She knew this was her one chance to cry for help. Maybe, just maybe a lost boy was on patrol and would hear her scream. If not…she didn't want to think about it. In a flash she put her hands up to her mouth and ripped off the gag. In that instant she had the chance to scream, or cry for help. But instead she cried out one word and even to her surprise, the word was not help.

"PETER!" She screamed as loud as she could. She saw guns from the pirate crew being drawn. This was it. She closed her eyes and felt someone pick her up. He heard the guns go off, then nothing. Was she dead? No. She heard the wind blowing and she could still feel someone holding her. She opened her eyes and found herself in Pan's arms at the top of a cliff. She couldn't read his emotion. She set her down and cut the rope from her hands. Her wrists were burnt from the rope and she had no doubt that her ankles looked the same. She was a good two feet from Pan when he cut the rope, but she suddenly had a flood of emotions because of what she had just been through. She burst into tears and launched herself into Pan's arms. She just wanted to feel safe. Pan took off his cloak and wrapped it around her like a shock blanket. She cried nonstop as Pan held her close and stroked her hair. He didn't know what had happened. After about ten minutes of this, Pan spoke softly

"You ran. You were running away again"

Alice pulled herself off of Pan's shoulder to look at him. Her teary eyes met his.

"No. Peter I wasn't…I wasn't running away I just needed a quiet place to think, I wasn't running" She pleaded for him to believe her as she cried. She was already ruined after what just happened to her, she couldn't take Pan's punishment. She would die. He looked into her eyes and at her tear stained face as she continued to cry and beg him to trust what she was saying.

"I believe you" he spoke as he pulled her into his shoulder once more, "It's going to be okay. You're safe now Alice."

When she looked up at him she noticed they were now in her cabin and not at the cliff's edge. She pulled herself off Peter once more, wrapped her arms around herself and held onto his cloak tightly. He reached for her, but she walked away from him and sat on her bed facing the corner without saying a word. He thought it was best to just leave her alone.


	3. Chapter 3

Pan didn't see her again for three days. She hadn't left her cabin at all. He finally entered her cabin quietly to find her in the same position, in the exact same place he had left her in three days ago. He sat on the bed next to her.

"Jesse's been asking about you. Wonders when you're coming back. He's worried Alice…I'm worried." He spoke softly but still got no response from her. He glanced at her wrists which he saw because she was hugging her shoulders with her back to him.

"What did they do to you?" he asked, "I don't see any physical damage except on your wrist, but something clearly happened. Please tell me. What happened to you on that ship? What did they do to you?" Still silence, "Alice please, I can't help you if you don't tell me what happened"

"You couldn't help anyway" she finally spoke at a barely audible volume. He was relieved to hear her say at least something.

"Yes I can. I'm Peter Pan and Peter Pan never fails at anything. So tell me"

Alice turned to face him and she showed her ankles which until then had been covered by the white dress the pirate captain had put her in. They were burned like her wrists.

"They tied your ankles too? Why?"

Alice closed her eyes and began to tear up and shake as she remembered what happened. Pan placed his hands on her shoulders gently causing her to flinch and open her eyes.

"Alice please" his voice was soothing and his face was full of worry, "bottling things up won't help…"

"He took advantage of me…" she said quietly

"What?" Peter asked, unsure of what he had just heard

"He raped me Peter. The captain tied me to his bed and raped me." Alice began to cry and Peter pulled her in close to hold her as she did. His expression darkened. Someone had hurt her, someone had touched his lost girl and he was going to make them pay. Anger filled his body and he held tightly onto Alice as she wept. He balled his fists.

"I'll take care of it." He promised in a dark tone

"What? Peter, no…" she pulled away to look at him

"NO ONE touches my lost girl and gets away with it! I will make them pay" She could see the anger in his eyes as he vanished before hers. _His lost girl_ … In a flash Pan was back, but he was covered in blood. Her eyes widened.

"Peter you're hurt!" She stood up and went to help him

"It's not my blood"

She stopped.

"You mean…?"

"Yes"

"Why?"

"Because he hurt you. He took advantage of you!"

"I meant…why would you do that for me?" Confusion was suppressing Alice's mixed emotions, "Why am I so important to you? Ever since you brought me to Neverland I've been wondering 'why me?' and I'm finally asking. Why did you come to Storybrooke looking for me? Why did you bring me here? Why would you kill someone who did that to me?"

Peter took a deep breath and sat on her bed.

"It's a long story" he said softly

"I've got time." She sat next to him

"You're 16 right now even though that isn't your actual age. Do you know why?"

"Neverland's magic"

"Yes, but do you know why it made you this age?"

Alice shook her head

"Because up until you were this age, you could hear my music."

"What?"

"Regina's curse must have dulled your memory a bit."

"Hey!"

"Point is, it was a long time ago. I was in the Enchanted Forest playing my music to attract new lost boys and take them to Neverland. Usually I'll visit them in their dreams and then send the shadow to get them. One night when I was playing, a little 5 year old princess heard my melody. It was strange because no girl has ever heard my music. So I paid a visit to the Enchanted Forest to see who this girl was. A little cursed child by the name of Princess Delany. Once I realized you heard me and had my curse, I formed an idea and I watched you as you grew up. Not in person, but through you hearing my music, I was able to keep tabs on you. Then, shortly after your 16th birthday, you could no longer hear what I played. I assumed I knew why you felt lost: everyone forgot your existence if they didn't see you the next day! So now it's my turn to ask why. Why did you stop feeling lost? Why couldn't you hear my music anymore?"

Peter's tone was one of genuine curiosity. Alice stared down at her hands as she entangled them together.

"…I met a boy. A prince. He was tall and handsome…and he liked me. We became friends and we saw each other every day so it was like my curse didn't exist!" Alice smiled at the memory, but then frowned as she continued her story, "We became best friends actually…then we fell in love. Or at least I thought. He proposed and of course I said yes. It was the day of our wedding and just before it was supposed to begin, I heard the queen, a royal advisor and my soon to be husband talking about payment arrangements. I continued to listen and found out the whole thing was fake. A way to get rid of me or keep me occupied or something. It wasn't real. Any of it. So I ran. I figured I could live outside the royal life just like my sister Snow. And soon after I ran, the curse hit." A tear rolled down her cheek, "It's like you said Pan: someone with your curse can never find true love. Now answer the rest of my question. Why did you bring me to Neverland?"

"The lost boys need a mother"

"You're joking…you're not joking?"

"They need someone to look after them and I can't be here all the time so I've chosen you to marry me and become the mother of Neverland"

"Hang on, go back. Marry you? That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard! I'm not going to marry you! Pan, thanks for everything, I might hate you less than I did, but I am nowhere near loving you! And that is the only reason-!"

"You don't have a choice"

"I don't have a—you can't control me Peter"

"Yes I can. Besides, I know how you feel about me"

"Yeah, I've made it pretty clear, I don't like you all that much"

"I meant the attraction you feel towards me"

"Attraction?! I don't know what the Hell has gotten into your head but-!"

"Oh come on, I can tell when you're lying. And it's in your eyes. I see the desire"

"Alright. I've had enough of you. Get out."

Alice pushed the 'all mighty' Peter Pan off of her bed and shoved him out the door

"Excellent, I'll arrange the wedding for tomorrow!"

"You're delusional if you think I'm saying 'I do!" She shoved him out the door

"You don't have a choice" he reminded her. He pulled a beating, glowing heart out of a small box he kept on his belt. Alice's stomach dropped.

"There seems to be a lot of that going around lately" She said coldly as she slammed the door in Peter's face.

The next morning (or was it afternoon? She couldn't tell) Alice awoke to music. She opened the door and squinted her eyes at the sun. When her eyes adjusted to the light she saw she was standing on an aisle. There were logs on either side of it filled with lost boys and at the front was an alter, with Felix standing behind it and Pan in front of it. He smirked at her as she walked down the aisle angrily.

"What the hell is all of this?" She demanded once reaching Peter

"Our wedding"

"I said no"

"And I said yes. I want something, I get it"

"Well, well…" Alice was running out of excuses, "Well I'm not dressed properly to be married" She finally managed. Peter snapped his fingers and a shower of blue, sparkling dust cascaded over her. When it cleared, her hair and makeup were freshly done and she was wearing a stunning white dress. She half expected glass slippers, but this wasn't a fairy tale and she wasn't Cinderella, so she was still barefoot. Either way, the sudden transformation and the sheer beauty of the dress took her breath away.

"Felix, proceed" Pan said

"We are gathered here today, blah blah blah, boring stuff, ok! Do you, Peter Pan take this woman to be your lawful wedded wife?" Felix spoke

"I do" Peter said confidently with a smirk. Alice wondered if he could actually smile or if all he could so was smirk.

"And do you…" Felix got Alice out of her head, "Alice uhh…"

"…Cassidy" she snapped coldly

"Alice Cassidy, take this man to be your lawful wedded husband?"

She stared at Peter, "I guess"

"I'll take it. Then by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride"

 _Oh shit_ Alice had forgotten about that part

"Don't even think about it" She said to Peter, who quickly pulled her close and crashed his lips onto hers while he dipped her, classic fairytale style. Her eyes widened but as she was caught up in the moment, they slowly closed and she began to kiss back, she heard the lost boys cheer, then silence. Pan had teleported them again, she just knew it. Teleporting…Pan…she was kissing Peter Pan! She snapped her eyes open and pushed her groom away.

"What's the matter? Not to your liking darling?" Pan asked

"Not at all!"

"Which is why you kissed back" He reasoned. The new mother of Neverland began to blush. She was going to push her feelings for Pan as far down as they could go. He already controlled her life, he wasn't going to control her feelings as well.

"What? No sarcastic remark from my new bride?" He asked smugly

"Can it Dumbo! Where the hell did you drag me this time" she looked around and noted that they were in some sort of cave. The walls were damp and she heard the ocean.

"I'll show you." He led her to a wide opening to the cave. She saw Neverland, they were off of the mainland. Just in front of her was the ocean.

"This is Skull Rock. My special place."

Alice wondered about the name, so she peaked her head out and looked up: sure enough, she was standing in the mouth of a giant skull shaped rock. _Very original name_ she thought to herself with a roll of her eyes. The ground beneath her began to shift and she began falling towards the sea. Peter grabbed her hand and helped her back onto steady land.

"Not in that dress princess. It's a wedding gown, not a swimsuit"

"This isn't a very stable rock is it?"

Pan shrugged, "Rocks shift and fall into the sea. It's called gravity my queen."

"Don't call me that" she said as she yanked away from Pan.

"You'll get used to it" Pan assured her as she turned her back and began walking deeper into Skull Rock. He sighed, "Look, Alice, I know this isn't what you wanted, and I really was going to wait until you fell in love with me, but after what happened with those pirates and you trying to run away…"

He was cut off when she stopped and spoke, "What?" she breathed, "How does that even make sense to you?" She turned to face him, only to find him right behind her, "Marrying me is going to keep me from running and keep bad shit from happening? That doesn't make sense Pan!" She waved her hands in the air to emphasize her point. He snatched up her left wrist, causing her to flinch; to which he responded with an apologetic look. He flared out her fingers by making her flick her wrist, "You see this?" Pan asked. She looked at her hand and noticed a ring on her ring finger. Despite everything happening, she couldn't help but admire its beauty: the band was gold, and it was topped with a blooming rose made from a diamond.

"And this?" he held up his left hand and showed her a gold wedding band on his ring finger, "These connect us. It's a magic bond so that the other will know when they're needed."

"Needed?" The new mother of Neverland asked.

Pan sighed, "When you were taken by those pirates and had the chance to call out for help, you didn't."

"Yes I di- "

"You shouted my name. Not help. This showed me that you knew I would always be there when you call. This just makes it so I can get to you sooner. If you're in trouble, the connection between the rings will let me know."

"…what if I take it off?"

"You can't" He stated simply, "Now, where to next love?"

"Excuse me?" Alice asked, trying to wrap her head around everything that was happening

"Where would my new bride like our honeymoon to be? The Enchanted Forest? Oz? Wonderland? I'll even let you chose Storybrooke if you so please" Pan said with a playful smirk and a tone that was expected to lighten the mood.

"I don't care." Alice said softly. Her husband frowned

"What?"

"It doesn't matter."

"But I thought you'd leap at the chance to go back to that land without magic. See all your…"

"All my what? Friends? My family? You said so yourself, no one remembers who I am. What would be the point of any of it?"

"Well I thought…"

"You thought you could win me over by taking me temporarily back home. Sorry to disappoint husband of mine, but you can't. It doesn't work that way"

"Then how does it work?"

"How does what work?"

"You? Love? How do I win my princess's heart?" He took her hand gently and to the surprise of both of them, she didn't flinch, "Alice, I'll admit I know nothing about love, but I know I love you and I want you to feel the same about me. So how do I make that happen?" He looked pleadingly into her eyes. _Oh shit, oh shit, don't cave, don't cave…_

"It'll take time. But you have to work for it." Alice gave in to his sad look.

"Of course, I'll do anything. Whatever you want."

"Loosen up the leash a bit. Let me explore this place."

"Alright…what about the lost boys?"

"Ok, I'll watch over them, but I'm not going to baby them. Keep them in check"

"Got it. Thank you Alice."

"Now, I want to go to bed."

"What about our honeymoon? Wonderland is very nice this time of year"

"As much as I'd love to see Jefferson again, I'd really rather just go to bed"

"Alright." Pan snapped his fingers and they were in a different tree house away from the camp, "I'll take you on a honeymoon some other time. Think of it like a free ticket off this island whenever you'd like to use it."

"Yeah, yeah alright. I'm too tired to think. Just get out, I need to change."

Pan snapped his fingers again and she was once again showered in blue, sparkling dust, but this time when the dust settled, she was in a soft, silk nightgown in a pastel shade of blue. She looked up at him annoyed as she crawled into the only bed in the tree house.

"I hate it when you do that."

Pan took off his shirt, revealing his muscular body. He stripped down to just his pants, "I can tell when you're lying." He said with a smirk as he crawled in the other side of the bed. Alice rolled over to face him. She was glad it was dark so he couldn't see how flushed she had gotten due to his lack of clothing.

"Then tell me if I'm lying about this…" She said, mirroring his signature smirk, "We're not sleeping in the same bed!" She pushed him out of the bed and onto the floor with a very satisfying thud. Then she rolled back over. Pan stood up and smirked as he looked at her laying in the bed. He was relieved that she was at least starting to act normally again. So that night, he obliged to her wishes and conjured up a separate bed for him to sleep in.

 **A/N: Sorry this chapter is a bit shorter, but I felt like this was a good stopping point. Anyway I hope you enjoyed and I will update again soon. Promise :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: hey guys, I'm sorry I haven't posted on this story in a while. I am still working on it though, but it's been rough the past few months and I've found myself with less time to write. I am also suffering from writers block so it may take some time. Thank you for reading and I promise I am still writing. I added just a little more to this chapter, but not too much.**

Life on Neverland set into a somewhat normal routine for Alice. She would watch over the lost boys and explore the island whenever she got the chance. She eventually let Peter sleep in the same bed as her but only because he kept insisting that it was 'traditional'.

One time when she was exploring the island she came across a crystal clear lagoon. The sparkling blue water took her breath away. She hopped onto a rock that was a little ways out from shore and was big enough for her to sit on. She crouched down and ran her hand on the water's surface. To her shock, another hand grabbed her wrist and pushed it out of the water. A girl with blonde hair with blue tips surfaced shortly after her hand.

"Don't do that" the girl warned

"Don't do what?" Alice asked, now even more shocked by seeing another girl on Neverland. Alice looked at the girl in the water. Her eyes drifted to where the girl's feet should be, but all she saw was a turquoise tail.

"Whoa…you're a-"

"Why are you here?" The mermaid interrupted

"What?"

"Neverland? How are you on Neverland? Why?"

"Um, I'm exploring...have you lived here a while?"

"My whole life. How did you get on Neverland?"

"I'll get back to you on that one. What do you think of Peter Pan?"

"Pan? That kid is the Devil. Who are you?"

Alice was quiet for a moment, "…The Devil's wife" The mermaid got a frightened look in her blue eyes and dove back underwater in fear.

"No wait!" Alice called, "Please come back! I'm not like him! This wasn't my choosing…ugh forget it" Alice sunk down on her butt and sat crisscross. She rested her elbows on her legs as her hands held up her head.

"What do you mean not of your choosing?" The mermaid resurfaced slowly

Alice sighed, "Pan kidnapped me and brought me here. Then took me as his wife."

"That sounds like something he would do" The magical creature put her elbows up on Alice's rock and rested her head on them.

"I'm Alice. Who are you?"

"Asrai" The mermaid responded

Alice offered a smile, "Nice to meet you Asrai"

"Likewise"

"Why'd you yell at me for touching the water?"

"Because it will attract mermaids."

"Looks like it already did."

"Not me, I mean different ones. The ones that like to drown people."

"Why would they do that?"

"I don't know. It's how we're raised."

"But you're not like that?"

"Nah"

"Why?"

"I don't see the point. I'm not just going to blindly follow what I'm told if it doesn't make sense to me. I think all life is precious and I don't want to destroy it."

"Oh, ok. So do you-"

"Look girls! Asrai's talking to a human!" A taunting voice called from further out in the lagoon. Alice turned and saw a group of girls, she assumed to be mermaids.

"Oh great, Kai." Asrai muttered. The group of mermaids swam over and surrounded the rock.

"Who's your new friend?" Kai asked Asrai

"Nobody. Go away Kai" Asrai responded

"How rude." Kai then turned to Alice, "Wanna join us for a swim human?"

"Um no. Not really, but thanks" Alice answered having remembered what Asrai said about other mermaids wanting to drown people.

"Come on, It'll be fun!" Kai reached for Alice's hand, but she stood up quickly. Kai laughed as her and the other mermaids started grabbing and scratching at Alice's feet and trying to get her to fall in the water.

"Knock it off Kai!" Asrai shouted but was ultimately ignored. Alice stepped on one of the mermaid's hands as she tried to keep her footing.

"What's going on?" A voice asked from above them. They all froze and looked up. Pan was flying above them with his arms crossed. _Shit_.

"Hi Pan." Kai said

"Still trying to drown people Kai?"

"Of course"

"Looks like you're doing a terrible job"

"Well if she was a man, I could have easily lured her to her death with my song and beauty"

"You actually have to be beautiful to do that"

Alice's jaw hit the ground, _damn that's rude. Well then again, so is drowning people_.

"I'm warning you once, stay away from Alice" Pan commanded

"Or what?" Kai asked

"Or we'll see how well you can swim without a tail" Pan flew down and scooped up Alice. He flew her back to camp.

"Why do you always have to do that?!" Alice asked once they landed

"Do what?" he responded with attitude

"Save me like I'm some damsel in distress!"

"You needed help"

"I could've handled it myself!"

"You were away from shore, surrounded by mermaid trying to kill you. What exactly would you have done to get out of there?" Pan crossed his arms

"Asrai was on my side!"

"That doesn't answer my question."  
"I would've figured something out!"

"Is it really that hard for you to just say thank you?"

"To you it is"

"Why?"

"Because you're you!"

"How specific"  
"First the pirates, now the mermaids, I'm not some princess who constantly needs saving! I can handle myself. I'm not a damsel in distress waiting for prince charming to come rescue her!"

"Girls are supposed to be rescued"

"What the—you sexist piece of shit! That's not what girls are 'supposed' to do. I could save a guy if I so choose. Girls can do anything guys can and our role in life is not to be rescued by men like you who think it's their job!"

"But that's how it is."

"Nope, I'm done," Alice threw her arms up, turned her back and began to walk away from Pan

"Where the hell do you think you're going now?!" He called after her

"Drop dead Pan!" Alice shouted as she kept walking until she was out of Pan's sight. He sighed believing that she will come back.

Alice walked through the forest alone for a bit until a lost boy who was about 12 jumped out at her.

"Hey Alice!" he said gleefully

"Huh? Oh hey Ridley" she responded

"Where ya going?" He asked

"Just out for a walk"

"You look upset"

"I'm fine"

"Ok…Can I walk with you?"

"Doesn't Pan have you patrolling or something?"

"Well nothing says I can't patrol with you"  
Alice laughed, "I guess not"

"Yeah I'm like the bodyguard to the Queen!" He shouted excitedly. Alice soured her face, but didn't say anything because Ridley seemed so happy about it. So they walked together deeper into the forest.

Back at camp Pan was eagerly pacing around the fire. He didn't like the thought of Alice being away on her own.

"Are you ok Pan?" Felix asked. Pan stopped.

"Fine."

"It doesn't look like it."

"Alice isn't back yet. That's all. But its fine because I know that she can't get too far from the island without me knowing."

"How long has she been gone?"

Pan looked up at the sky to determine the time, "Just about thirty minutes."

"Oh I'm sure she's fine then. Alice has stayed out even longer before. Plus, she's a tough girl."

"I know, but she doesn't know the island well enough to-" Pan was cut off by the sound of a horn being blown some distance away. All of the boys looked up. Pan was relieved: even though he knew the horn meant some lost boy was in trouble, he knew that Alice would go towards the horn because she cared about all the lost boys.

"Felix come on!" Pan ordered as the horn continued to sound, "Hunter, Alex, Chris, you too! James, stay and watch over the younger ones!" The lost boys nodded and Pan took off into the forest, towards the sound of the horn. He came to the boy who was blowing the horn. His back was turned and he was standing over whoever needed help.

"What happened?" Pan asked

"I don't know. We were just walking and…" Ridley turned around to face Pan, "And she started stumbling, then she just dropped!"

Pan paled, "What?" he pushed past Ridley and saw Alice on the ground, unconscious, shaking and sweating.

"Alice! Alice can you hear me?" He asked, shaking her a bit, but ultimately getting no response.

"Hunter, Alex get back to camp, prep the med stuff" Felix ordered. The boys nodded and rushed off.

"Ridley, you too. Chis and I will help Pan get her back to camp safely. GO!" Felix shouted

Pan gently picked Alice up. He would have no trouble getting her back to camp on his own, but he had a sneaking suspicion about Alice's "sudden" illness. He handed her to Felix, who took her with surprise.

"Get her back quickly and try to bring her fever down." He ordered.

"Where are you going?"

"I get the feeling that this isn't a coincidence."

"What do you mean?" Chris asked, but Pan ignored him and vanished. Chris looked at Felix for clarification on their leader's actions.

"He thinks she was poisoned." Felix stated.

"Oh" Chris responded. He and Felix got Alice back to camp just like Pan ordered. They took her to the medic tent and Felix laid her down on one of the beds.

"Get me a bucket of cold water quickly!" Felix ordered at Alex. He nodded and ran out of the tent.

"Hunter?!"

"Got 'em right here!" Hunter responded, handing all of the spare towels to Felix.

"Excellent." Alex came rushing back in the tent with a bucket of cold water.

"I'll tend to her from here. If I need anything else, I'll call" Felix said as he dipped one of the towels in the cold water, rang it out and smoothed it over Alice's forehead. Occasionally he would flip it, then change towels. He kept this up for another hour before Pan appeared behind him in the tent.

"How is she?" he asked.

"Not any better" Felix reported, "What came of your 'trip'?"

Pan snapped his fingers and Asrai appeared next to him with bound hands and screaming curses at him.

"Who's this?" Felix asked

"Asrai, a mermaid."

"She has legs though."

"Temporary magic." Pan pushed her towards his still unconscious wife, "Now explain. What happened? Before she was in the forest she was with you! What did you do to her?!" Pan asked accusingly.

"What the Hell?! I didn't do anything to her!" Asrai defended herself

"Then what happened to her?!" Pan asked

"Untie me"

"No way. Until we know what's wrong with her and how to fix it, you're my prisoner"

"How is that gonna help you here?! Now untie me. I may not have caused whatever is happening to her, but I might be able to figure out what it is and stop it if you freaking untie me!"

"Yeah right"

"Fine. I'll just sit here and watch her DIE" Asrai said stepping back and turning away from Pan. He was silent for a moment, thinking

"If you run…" He warned

"I can barely walk!" She protested. Pan silently glared at her and cut her bonds. She carefully walked over to Alice and steadied herself on the bed before examining her condition.

"Hang on" She thought out loud after a few minutes of examining her. Asrai moved down to Alice's feet and looked. On her Achilles tendon there was a scratch.

"Yep, thought so." She turned to face Pan, "She's got sea flu"

"Huh?" Felix asked

"It's like a common cold to us mermaids but it can be deadly to a human. She must've gotten it when she was being attacked by Kai and her little friends."

"Can you cure it?" Pan asked

"Are you asking or telling me?"

"Asking." Pan said calmly, "Please, I can't lose her." The sincerity of his voice felt so real to Asrai.

"I'll need my tail back. There's a potion that can cure it, probably. But the ingredients are found in the ocean."

"Of course." Pan teleported him and Asrai back to Mermaid Lagoon and gave her tail back. Without saying a word, she dove underwater. Pan sat down on the rocky shore and waited for when, or even if, Asrai came back.

20 minutes later Asrai surface. She threw a bag of ingredients on the shore at Pan.

"Mix them together over a fire, wait for it to cool, then give her a dose. I got enough to make around 15 doses incase this happens again. But she should only need one. Only give her one! ...So next time the love of your life falls fatally ill with a mermaid disease, don't kidnap me!" with that, she dove back underwater with the flick of her tail. Pan hurried back to camp and followed Asrai's instructions. He gave a dose to Alice and saw the sickness begin to fade: rather than shaking and sweating while being unconscious, she appeared to drift into a peaceful sleep.

Alice opened her eyes the next morning and saw Felix standing guard in the medical tent. Pan was in bed with her, holding her from behind. He was still fast asleep. Alice went to move, but Felix stopped her when he spoke.

"Don't. You're still weak." Felix looked over at her

"I feel fine." She whispered back.

"Just try to get more rest ok? You need it. Plus, he just got to sleep a few hours ago. He's refused to leave your side."

Alice didn't know what to say, so she closed her eyes again and soon drifted off to sleep again.


End file.
